The importance of sex ed

Senator Short asks, “What’s affirmative consent when you are a kindergartener?” and the Washington Catholic Conference fostered the petition to get our new Sex Education bill repealed.

This is affirmative consent at the kindergarten level: Tell a trusted adult if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable and or touches you, that your body is your own. Perhaps if these basic ideas had been previously taught in our schools, we would not have had the sex abuse scandals that have been so prevalent in previously esteemed institutions such as the church and the Boy Scouts.

Repealing the comprehensive sex ed bill will be on the ballot this fall, thanks to the misguided beliefs of too many Washingtonians. I urge you to learn the actual facts about comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education. Please don’t buy the hysteria and falsehoods that are being presented by the religious right. The OSPI website can help you understand the curriculum better. This curriculum is designed to empower and protect our children and support parental teachings at home, not replace them. It provides an “opt-out” option for parents, if they choose to do so.

Join me in continuing to protect our most vulnerable and precious citizens, by voting AGAINST the repeal of the sex ed bill.

Karn Nielsen

Spokane